Julie Kim, M.D., Ph.D, and Christine Arsnow, M.D., are, respectively, president and vice president of the New Hampshire American Academy of Pediatrics.

We all want the best health for ourselves and our children. As parents and caregivers, we want to have choices and to be able to afford the best health care for our children. If the state could get a health product at a 30% discount, surely we would do what we could to keep that discount going, but a bill presented in the New Hampshire House, HB 524, proposes to take this discount away and pass more of the cost directly to taxpayers. 

HB 524 will create problems and raise costs. Currently, insurance companies pay into a central fund, managed by a non-profit organization called the New Hampshire Vaccine Association (NHVA), which allows the state to purchase vaccines at a 30% discount. The state then offers these immunizations to families at no cost, ensuring that families across New Hampshire have access to the same vaccines at no cost regardless of their insurance type. This bill seeks to dissolve the NHVA.

If this HB524 were to pass, a patient’s insurance company would have to pay the cost for a vaccination and would likely pass the cost onto the patient. The cost of an individual vaccine may be as much as $150, which an insurance company could then charge to a patient.

In New Hampshire, ninety percent of families choose to immunize their children. We should protect the pocketbooks of these families so their children can continue to receive this free service. HB 524 must be stopped so all vaccines can continue to be free.

The authors of HB 524 believe a single part-time state employee should be able to communicate the changes HB 524 would bring to our immunization program. This is not only a gross underestimation but an impossible task. The process of vaccine storage is appropriately regimented and requires a trained team. Vaccines must be stored under precise conditions, with regulated temperature and humidity. Refreshing inventory frequently is required to make sure no vaccines are expired. For context, a small pediatric practice in Concord employs someone more than 20 hours per week to work on vaccine storage, handling and data entry. The idea that this transition for the entire state could be managed by a part time employee is absurd. In fact, if the process of purchasing and obtaining vaccines were to change, the administrative burden on all pediatric practices would skyrocket.

Should a disease outbreak occur, HB 524 would not only be crippling to our health but to New Hampshire’s finances. Under HB 524, we would not have access to free vaccines, and the state of New Hampshire would have to purchase immunizations on the commercial market. It would be more expensive to us as individuals and to our state spending if HB 524 were to pass.

The authors of HB 524 acknowledge in their bill that their proposal will cost the state more money. They have estimated a $44,000 salary for the part-time employee who will supposedly manage any changes to the entire state’s immunization program. They have estimated purchasing immunizations for public health response activities for disease outbreaks will cost another another $150,000 in 2026.

HB 524 would cost the state of New Hampshire more money. HB 524 would cost us, individuals and families, more money. HB 524 would limit the choices parents have for their children, and children will be the ones suffering harm. HB 524 would force parents and caregivers to pay for something which is currently free to them, and HB 524 would excessively burden practices that care for our state’s children.

HB 524 will be heard by the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 10:30 a.m. We urge the committee to oppose this dangerous bill.